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Tag: academics

With the new addition of the Cypress Center and the brand new
theatre, there has been a lot of speculation of the theatre programs, including
the addition of IB theatre - what does this all mean? I am able to participate
in most theatre functions and have a large understanding of how the performing
arts programs run daily, as well as all the opportunities available for
students.

Thespians

It's called "Thespians" for short, however it is the International
Thespian Society. This is a club that revolves around theatre in general, as
well as going to theatre competitions. Students practice scenes, monologues,
songs, and technical events like costume design and playwriting, and
participate in a festival for a few days in our district whilst being judged,
and if they get a high enough score, can take a trip to the Florida state
festival and take workshops and classes from the very best as well as
performing. However, thespians has multiple other events for those who do not
get into districts- this includes Improv. Night, The Haunted House, Shakespeare
Night, and many new events such as Miscast and W factor (in which boys perform
female numbers and vise versa), and school events like the homecoming parade.
However, this club forms a community and even if you do not participate on
stage or backstage but enjoy the art form, then it is to learn about and
celebrate everything theatre has to offer.

WHAT THESPIANS REQUIRE

Meetings every Friday

Energy whenever we meet or participate!

Watch or participate in other theatrical events/shows

Go to districts and if possible state

Spread the word of theatre around WPS!

OFFICER LIFE

The Officers are very involved in running thespians - our sponsor
helps us, however organization of events is all us. We make plans for all the
meetings, send emails, and decide what to do throughout the year. We have to be
leaders of the troupe and help critique district pieces, have separate
meetings, go to club events, find ways to raise money, etc. It is very busy,
almost like a job as well have to do something everyday, but very rewarding.

School Shows

With the opening of the cypress center came a plethora of new
school shows for students to participate in - both offstage and onstage. These
include the current "Peter Pan" All School, the high school play "Steel
Magnolias", the HS/MS musical of "Addams Family", as well as the Lower Schoolers
"Cinderella" and the MS Broadway review. There will also be a summer camp show
of "Les Miserables" in which anyone in the community can participate in. This
means that it is a fulfilling year for both technical and theatrical students,
but it is also a lot of work.

The Students must research the show and prepare songs and sides before auditions

Auditions and callbacks last approximately a week, with students getting tried for multiple rows and learning new material throughout the week until the roles are chosen

Once roles are given out, students must learn their lines as quickly as possible - once the scene has been blocked it should be memorized and not revisited until cleaning.

Depending on the role, students must be present for long hours after school and for multiple days in the week. For example in peter pan, I have rehearsal 4-5 days a week until 6pm. If not in a scene, students would be memorizing lines or doing homework.

Many techies have to shadow performers and come to rehearsals in order to see how the show runs and to practice moving sets/lightning/finding props

There will be weekend rehearsals for both set building and for full runs of the show, which can be long and detailed and tiring.

Tech week is the busiest time for a production- students spend long amounts of time in the theatre working the show, usually until 7-9 at night. Juggling this and school work as well as other extracurricular activities can be very difficult, and the rehearsals take a lot of time and effort in order to make sure as the pieces of the puzzle (the set, music, blocking, and other technical effects) fit together.

Show week is the time in which the months of preparation are worth it- students work hard in order to show everyone what they had been working on. It is tiring, but rewarding to see the positive comments and to have an audience. There is usually more time to do other work as well.

After the final show, students are rewarded with an after party in which they get to relax and celebrate their work. It can be quite sad to close a show because of all the effort put into it and the memories made, but soon students get excited for the next and will take what they have learnt from the past show with them.

Classes

The performance sets are very difficult to maintain, therefore
many students take classes in and outside of school in order to keep and
improve their skills. A lot of theatre students take dance classes in order to
keep with the demand of movement in shows, as well as musical theatre which can
contain high intensity dancing in multiple styles. They also take choir or
chorus, to learn the proper technique of singing, the different variations, and
how to be united in a group. Both of these classes also give the benefit of
making the student a triple threat, something desired in the community because
of the versatility of the student that allows them to perform roles with
multiple requirements (for example a character that can sing opera, or Tap
dances). Some students even take music classes to learn or understand musical
instruments and how to read music- there are many shows that now require actors
to play instruments and the business is very competitive. These music students
also have an opportunity to play in the orchestra of a show.

However, the most important part is acting or theatrical classes.
It is the backbone of musical theatre - performance is about expressing
yourself, which is what this class does. There is so much variation in acting
and an actor can always improve in each style and in each style and needs
constant direction in order to be as close to perfect as possible. This helps
abstract theatre, speech, script work, directing and critiquing others, and
being able to learn about techniques.

Technical theatre is also expanding at our school, through the use
of the art classes. WPS is beginning to make its own sets, and creative minds
are needed for this. Students that take art classes are creative, problem
solvers, able to view the full picture and see what compliments, and bring new
ideas to the table.

It is important to take these fine and performing art classes
because it keeps the students in a creative mindset, allows them to expand and
grow, and can bring it to their multiple projects.

Volunteering

Many students find their volunteer hours through the performing
arts. Many of the lower school and middle school shows invite HS and MS
students to tech backstage or stage manager, as well as help the children, and
the high school shows have a tech team that consists of high school students-
for example, many high school students are "fly crew" in Peter Pan, which is a
very big job. Not only does it create leadership and organizational skills, but
it gives students many CAS and volunteer hours. Thespians tech at both W factor
and Mr. Windermere Prep, and students usually help the performing arts teachers
in tasks.

In the IB Diploma program,
I am taking Psychology at the HL level. This course fully revolves around
real-life events, and there is a focus on biological, cognitive, and
sociocultural levels of analysis. In addition to learning about these aspects,
we need to know and understand many studies - which could be experiments,
observations, correlations, and etc. These complex studies are used for short
answer questions (SAQ) and Essays. Although a SAQ requires one study and an
essay requires three (most of the time), students need to know much more to be
fully prepared for an exam. From my experience, here are some of the things
that I think are helpful.

Understanding will help you memorize: This course requires a high degree of knowledge on the material taught. In order to know such a multitude of background information and those "studies," I have to start studying one to two weeks ahead of time. In this way, I would retain (and understand) the information for a much longer time and I would be more confident about it. This is also a way for me to have questions in mind to ask the teacher. Usually, cramming might help you for a one-day exam, but it won't help in the long-run.

Outlines: For the SAQ's AND Essays, writing an outline for each prompt (or most of them) is highly recommended. In this way, the format is easier to remember, especially since the organization is a big part of the writing requirement.

Making Connections: Try to connect levels of analysis to your daily life. Psychology is all around us, and comparing what you learn to your personal experiences will help you understand the material even better.

Talking to the Teacher: Asking questions to the teacher and reviewing over certain sections can be very helpful. Ms. Isley is very kind and is always happy to help:)

Review: It is important to know that the IB Exam in May of your senior year is a cumulative exam. I would recommend reviewing previous material from time to time, especially since lots of material can be forgotten with the breaks.

If
you have ever heard of APUSH (AP US History), you probably heard that it is one
of the toughest classes at Windermere Prep. Compared to other schools, WPS offers
this course at 9th grade, while other schools offer it at 11th and 12th. I am
just going to flat out say that if you aren't willing to work hard and put in
the time, then this class is definitely not for you, as the work never stops.
Now as a former survivor of APUSH, I know a few things about how this class
works, and what it takes to succeed.

Outlines

The
first part of this course is outlines. Every night, you basically summarize a
part of a textbook chapter in a specific format, which Mr. Zoslow then checks
the next day. Every outline is a total of 3 points, so as long as you complete
it, you should get full credit. Of course it depends on how many pages your
reading is for that night, but my outlines were around 10 pages, give or take a
few pages. You might be stressing out during your first outline, and it might
take you a long time, but just know that they get easier as you continue on
throughout the year. My advice to you is to use every minute of the day for
outlines. Even 5 minutes at the end of another class can get you a few
paragraphs outlined. Don't worry about making everything perfect, because
honestly Mr. Zoslow just scrolls through it, and doesn't actually read
everything word for word.

KBATS

KBATS
are just a bunch of vocab words that you think are necessary to study for the
unit exam. The catch is that Mr. Zoslow doesn't give you a vocab list, but you
have to come up with the words yourself and then write definitions for them. My
suggestion is to either underline or highlight your KBATS while you are
outlining so you can go back and know which words you thought were important.
Some won't agree with me, but I found it easy to complete my KBATS while I was
outlining so that way I didn't have to worry about them later. You will just have
to determine what works best for you. Make sure you are only doing definitions
for words that are necessary, or you will end up with a couple hundred words
for each chapter. Lastly, DO NOT procrastinate these. I guarantee the last
thing you want is to have to complete a couple hundred vocab words in one
night.

EDQs

EDQs
(essential daily questions) are a necessity in this class if you want to
succeed. You get a specific question based off of your reading from the night
before, and you have to answer it in the form of an essay. When you come to
class the next day, there are usually 3-4 readers depending on time, and you
get 10 points for reading your EDQ, even if it is completely wrong. It
definitely takes a lot of courage to read in front of your classmates, but just
know that your classmates really don't listen to the EDQs. Even though you may
think that Mr. Zoslow isn't paying attention, he definitely is, so don't try to
slide in some wrong information or information from a different topic. There are
three main components that you have to include by the end of the year; thesis,
contextualization, and synthesis. You will gradually need to do all three, but
the first quarter is just composing a thesis. After you read your EDQ, Mr.
Zoslow will ask you to repeat your thesis. Don't worry about not knowing how to
write one in the beginning, but just make sure you know what you are talking
about. Don't try to make up information that isn't true or accurate, because
Mr. Zoslow will ask you about it. You want to make sure that you get your
readings done as soon as possible. When you get to the end of the quarter,
everyone is in the same boat as you, and then there are too many people and too
few days for everyone to read and get their points. At the end of the year for
me, there was a huge waiting list everyday for reading your EDQs, and some
people emailed 2-3 weeks in advance for a spot to read. You want to complete
them every night and not procrastinate doing them, because you will eventually
have to turn in an EDQ packet at the end with all of your essays. It is
definitely harder to write an essay and remember the information from a month
ago, rather than just writing it the night you learned the material.

Unit Exams

I'm
not gonna lie; the unit exams you will take for APUSH will SEEM very
impossible, but they aren't. After your first few tests, you learn what Mr.
Zoslow is looking for, and what it takes to get a good grade. When studying for
these exams, don't focus too much about the minor details, but make sure you
know the overall picture. You have the whole class period to complete the test,
so right when you walk in the door, make sure you already have your pens and
highlighters in hand. Trust me: every minute counts. There are 55 multiple
choice questions, and there is no possible way that you could get all of them
right. I would recommend to spend about 10 minutes on the multiple choice
because the essay is where you get the most points. When you get to the essay,
make sure you do a little 2-3 min outline of what you are going to write,
because that alone can get you 5 points. You get a point for everything you get
right, but a point off for something wrong, or even more points if it is a
really dumb answer, so just right everything that you know. However, if you are
unsure of a date or a specific detail, don't write it, because you may get a
point taken off for it. Make sure you frame the narrative, and for every person
that you introduce, make sure that you describe him/her and not just simply
write their name. If you are given documents, you MUST use all documents or
else you will get points taken off. Keep reminding yourself that you are in
APUSH, so make sure you don't find yourself focusing too much on other
countries. Lastly, sleep is the most important thing. If you don't get enough
sleep, your brain can't properly function, and you won't be able to remember
any of the information.

Grading the Unit Exams

All
of the APUSH tests are curved, which means that points are added on to your raw
score. Your raw score is the actual grade that Mr. Zoslow got from your exam,
but the curve is made based on how everyone else does. If everyone did really
good on the test, then the curve is going to be lower, but if everyone did bad,
the curve might be higher. There is what is called a floor, which is the lowest
possible score someone could get. If you get lower than the floor, then the
floor score is the one that shows up in the gradebook. For example, if someone
got a raw score of 20, the curve was 40, and the floor was a 65, then they
would get a 65 in their grade book. If someone got a raw score of 80, and the
curve was 40, then they would get a 99 because that is the highest grade you
could get. Just know that your first probably won't be the score that you
wanted, but it will get better from there.

Study tips

Use
your friends for resources, because they are going through the same struggles
that you are. Collaboration is key in this class, because there is so much
information that you can't possibly remember all of it. Use your prep book, and
watched jocz production videos. Before tests, look up practice essay questions
and write out a brief outline just to practice to ensure you know the
information. Take notes during class so that you make sure you are paying
attention and can later use them for a review resource.

The AP Exam

At
the end of the year, you will take the nationwide APUSH exam. It includes a
DBQ, a long essay, multiple choice, and short answer questions. Your grade is
given on a scale from 1-5, but don't expect that you are going to get a 5.
Remember that you are going against juniors and seniors, and a 5 is really hard
to get. I would definitely study a lot for this exam because you want to get at
least the passing grade of a 3. Also, at the end of the year there is a US
history subject test that is required for some colleges, so I would recommend
taking it so that way you don't have to worry about it when you are a junior or
senior.

One
thing to know about this class is that it never stops, not even during breaks
or on weekends. Even when you finish an outline, you always have one for the
next day or another assignment you should be doing to get ahead. Despite all of
the work that you have to do, it is really hard to do badly in this class, as
long as you complete all of the necessary work. Even if you get the floor on
every test but complete all of your EDQs, KBATS, and outlines, then you might
end up with a B. This class is very independent, and it teaches you how you best
learn and how to manage your time better. One thing to steer away from is
comparing yourself to other people. Don't panic if someone already had their
outline done for tomorrow when you haven't even started. Everybody works at
their own pace and in their own way. By the end of the year, you will be
thinking and working 10 times faster than you were in the beginning of the
year. Just know that at the end of the year, you will finally be able to say,
"I survived APUSH", and trust me, it's a great feeling.

If you've ever found yourself floundering to maintain your grades, barely
getting by the first week of school, follow these tips and strategies I have
cultivated over my past two years as a high school student at Windermere Prep.

Time management and
Organization

When school, sports, and other extracurriculars
get crazy, time management is key to maintain a good learning experience. As a
high school student, or a student of any grade, you need to recognize what
needs to be done urgently and what can wait. The best way to do this is by
finding a system of organization. Whether it be a planner, Google doc, or a
notebook, find a place where you can organize everything that needs to be done
into categories: mandatory work, extra work, questions you might have, due
dates, reminders, notes, etc…This will let you know exactly what you have to
do, when, and what's coming up.

Talk to your Teachers

As much as you don't want to believe
it, your teachers are here to help you! Don't hesitate to ask them for help
after school or during SRT. A key piece of information worth remembering is
that when you actively invest in your education, your teachers will notice this
and think of you more often, finding ways to help you and always keeping in mind
what you might need. They will come to you with more detailed suggestions and
resources.

Review, Review, Review!

The best way to lighten up on studying
for a final, midterm, or even a test or quiz, is to constantly review. Create a
system where you review your classes, whether it be 15 minutes daily for each
class, or a couple hours on the weekend. Doing this keeps the knowledge fresh,
which will ultimately help you study effectively for big cumulative tests or
exams. This will also keep you from cramming, giving more time to process the
information. When you do this, studying is truly just review, not relearning!

Prepare for Classes

Another great way to stay on top of
classes, especially challenging ones, is to introduce the next topic to
yourself with some light textbook (or whatever resource is best for the class)
pre-reading. This sets up the unit for you and puts you at an advantage. Don't
worry if you don't understand at first, when you begin learning with your
teacher and other students, your questions will be gone! This gives you more
time to understand and process the concept.

Make use of your
Resources

This might be obvious, but don't
overlook any resources your teachers give you! These resources are an
opportunity, use them wisely! The most accessible and best ones are those added
by your teacher on Canvas. One of the best and most useful resources I have
found is the canvas calendar. With all your future assignments and tests
listed, you can see the exact workload for the upcoming weeks and plan
accordingly. If you still find yourself struggling with the class, ask your
teacher for more practice or good websites. You can also do your own research
and find websites and books to help.

Take Good Notes and be
an Active Student

Arguably the most important of these
tips is to be an active member of your class. If you have questions, ask them!
They are most likely legitimate questions that everyone else also has. They
also might bring up a good argument or sub topic that needs to be addressed to avoid
confusion later. You might just be doing everyone a favor when you ask
questions. You should also try to make connections and share ideas to the
class, as this could facilitate a well-rounded discussion with your peers.
Lastly, take. good. notes. Find what works best for you and stick with it. This
could be hand written notes, flashcards, typed notes…anything! Good notes does
not necessarily mean copy every word down. Good notes are ones that summarize
main ideas and include key details. You might also want to analyze the
information you have and apply it in different ways to test your understanding.

Learn, do not Just
Study

Make sure your priorities and reasons
for studying are well-intentioned. Do not just study to attain the "perfect
grade". Understand the information given to you, and be able to apply it. This
is how you truly make use of what you learn in school.

Recognize the
Importance of your Education

As much as we think the things we learn
in school are useless, and while we might not remember them or use them later,
that doesn't mean we shouldn't learn them! The benefit of learning something
"useless" is not in its content, but in the skills developed and used. These
classes teach us to think critically, analyze the information, and apply it.
Attaining knowledge at our level is an opportunity, so seizeevery minuteof it, whether you think it minuscule
or not. And perhaps the most important piece of advice I can give you, do it
for yourself. Do it for your self-improvement, for your enrichment, and for
your enjoyment. Find what makes you love learning and pursue it, no matter if
it isn't the safest bet. Be a reasonable risk-taker. No matter what you pursue,
if you do it whole-heartedly, you will find your way to success. Enjoy what you
learn and do it to become the best version of you, to become a well-rounded and
worldly citizen. And remember, grades are not the final and only measurement of
intelligence. As long as you are trying, improving, and working hard, your
grades will reflect that. If they don't, there might other aspects of an
education that you are stronger in, and those are just as important!

Learning a new language is not all about memorization, but it is
more about being passionate and creative.

Why be passionate? People cannot memorize things that they do
not like because those things will not be impressive enough to them in order to
be taken into their memory. Before learning a new language, you should have positive
feeling towards that language and ask yourself why you want to study it.
Your reason for learning a new language can be simple. For example, you may want
to learn Korean just because Korean dramas attract you. When you know your
purpose, you will be able to better identify your passion. The ability to like
a language so much will make the difference in the process of learning. Also, if
you are passionate about something, you will spend your time on doing it
frequently, thus you will improve more quickly than those who are impassionate.

After you know your passion towards the language, it's time to
accomplish your goal- use the language fluently. In order to succeed in this
area, you should be an active learner, not the passive one. What does it mean
to be active? You should manage your own plan as well as your own method to
learn. There are many ways to learn a language, and not everybody will have the
same ways, the same plan. You should find the way that is suitable for you so
that you can learn comfortably. Here are some tips:

For the beginner, you should know the basic vocabulary first,
this can be accomplished by using the website www.quizlet.com, or you can write
down words on notecards and stick them where you can see easily and frequently.
These places can be on the wall at the desk, on the door, or even neat the
toilet- as long as you see it frequently.

When you know the basics, you should learn how to apply you've
learned in daily life. When looking at something, try to reflect on related
vocabulary that you have just learned. By doing this, it is hard to forget the
vocabulary since it is already a part of your daily life.

Furthermore, you can watch movies in the language that you are
learning with subtitles so that you can practice listening skills as well as
your vocabulary.

For writing skills, you can write things that you like in that
language and find teachers or tutors who would be able to edit them for you. By
having people correct your writing, you will be able to remember your mistake
and avoid making it again.

Know -> learn -> apply. These three steps are important
and useful to learn a new language.

These are my tips. I hope that it can help you to accomplish
your goal in learning a new language!

Having effective study habits can reduce time and stress that
comes with schoolwork. Here are some way that can make your life easier:

#1- Learn
the Way You Learn

Everyone is individual with the way
that they learn. Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic are the three different ways
of learning. Knowing what type of learner you are lets you study the
information in a better way. You will find better results when you personalize
the way that you study.

#2-
Deadlines and More

After receiving an
assignment, creating a schedule including deadlines and extracurriculars will
help you prioritize tasks. With less procrastination more sleep and less stress
will come. Having everything in the same place, like planner or calendar will
make life much easier.

#3- Teachers

Learning
how to talk to your teachers can be very beneficial. Most teachers are more
than happy to provide extra help. Not only will this help you on your further
assignments and tests, it also shows that you care about your academics. Some
grades are given though work ethic so talking with your teachers can also a
major grade booster.

#4- Studying
for the Test

When studying try not to think of
everything thing that has ever been said in class, this will add even more
stress. When you start to study, focus on the most important topics. Once you
have those topics and are confident with them, if there's still time before the
test, you can then move on to the smaller details.

#5-
Distractions Vs. the Quiet

When studying it is
easy to turn on the T.V or your phone and get off topic quickly. Doing this
however breaks your concentration and makes it harder to focus. With less
distractions, more studying can be done and the amount of time it takes to
study is cut down. If there is no place that you can study quietly, consider
studying at the library. Distractions also come from getting up and getting
things that you need to continue studying. Once you sit down to study, make
sure you have everything you need.

#6-Night
Before a Test

It is tempting to
hold off studying until the night before. You might tell yourself that it is
easier to learn more closer to the test in order to remember more. Create a
schedule for a couple days before the test. Take some time review your notes
and re-read important things in the textbooks. It might seem that that is a lot
to do, but that lets the information sink into your brain in a way more natural
way. Sleep is also very, very important. If you are tempted to pull an
all-nighter you will only be hurting your chances of getting an A. With a
proper amount of sleep, your brain will be in good shape on test day.

#7- Stay
Positive!

Positive reinforcement is a very important and
powerful thing. After finishing something for school, reward yourself. Whether
that be taking a break from studying to get some food, or watching some
Netflix, rewards are important. Breaks also can help improve studying, your
brain can only take so much hard work at a time. It will keep your stress
levels down and the information will also have a chance to sink in. With this
new mindset implemented, procrastination can be cut down!

Many students dedicate a lot of their time to extracurriculars,
sports, volunteer work, jobs, etc. I myself have dedicated my entire life to
gymnastics, where I spend every afternoon of every week practicing for
just a few moments of glory every year. Spending all of this time involved in
something like this makes you realize how important time is, especially when
you're involved in the IB program. After all of these years, I have picked up a
few tips and tricks on time management and how balancing your social life,
extracurriculars, and school work can be done effectively. I've finally learned
that balancing my time would help me in the long run and would relieve a lot of
unnecessary stress as well.

Firstly, realizing where your time is going helps you understand
how you could be using your time better and create a more efficient schedule
that lets you control where your time is being spent and how it could be spent
better. Setting priorities helps you focus on activities that are most
important and allows you to categorize the most important to least important
things you need to get done. The best way to manage your time is to stay
organized. I recommend using a calendar or planner and daily to-do list, to
check off items as you complete them. I also recommend doing tough tasks first
while you're fresh and alert and breaking large projects down into smaller
chunks to complete these projects more efficiently. I know my main drawback
when it comes to time management is procrastination. I've learned that the best
ways to avoid procrastination is to set daily priorities, try focusing for
short amounts of time instead of hours at a time, and attempting difficult
tasks at your high-energy time since your concentration will be easier then.
Don't allow interruptions, like a loud room to study or your friend's bothering
you, get in your way or else juggling your work may seem much more difficult
than it actually is and you'll just become more discouraged. These few tips and
tricks may just save you from a sleepless night of studying in the future.

Lack of sleep always wins. Don't make the mistake of
underestimating it.

As you get farther into high school,
the amount of homework you have and the number of activities you are involved
in will keep increasing, and your time for doing anything else (including
eating, sleeping, and breathing) will steadily decrease.

But don't make the mistake that I did.

As a sophomore, I'm currently taking
some of the toughest classes offered at WPS, including AP European History and
the first year of IB HL Math. I'm also on the swim team (which has
practice for two hours every day), I lead the school's Astronomy Club, and I am
on my grade's SGA. When I started staying up till 1:00 am almost every day
starting from the second week of school, I knew something was wrong. I
began to feel nauseous from lack of sleep, and my constant tiredness only
caused me to stay up even later some nights.

After an already exhausting week, four
tests on one day near the end of the 1st Quarter was my breaking point. By the time I got to my 7th period math test, I was having trouble
keeping my eyes open. I could tell that the questions on the test weren't that
difficult, but I just couldn't remember how to solve them.

That test tanked my math grade to the point where I barely scraped
an A for the quarter. That time I didn't have to pay for my lack of sleep
with my GPA, but that doesn't mean that it can't happen.

Don't cheat yourself out of a good
grade. Make sure that you try your very best to go to sleep by midnight
every night. Even if you feel like you'll do better on a test if you just
study for just one more hour, that one hour of sleep will cost you much more
than you will gain with one hour of extra studying.

And besides a lack of sleep hurting
your grades, it also hurts your overall health. A 4.0 GPA isn't going to
help you if you ruin your health by not sleeping enough. Sleep is more
important than perfecting your English essay or doing every single math problem
in the textbook. You can't always be a perfectionist, which is something
that I never really understood until this year.

So all you perfectionists and overachievers out there, please get
some sleep. You know you need it.

1. Don't
write down any reminders or set any alarms about when the assignment is due.

Does a recently received assignment
seem too difficult or tedious? Simply don't put any measure in place to remind
yourself about it. Out of sight, out of mind! This is an important first step
to procrastination, as it allows you to remove the assignment from your present
conscious and reduce the current amount of stress in your life.

2. Take
frequent and lengthy breaks from your work.

Once you've settled in to your desk or other preferred
workspace after school, feel free to play a few rounds of 2048, browse the
internet, or check social media. After all, if you never took breaks, you would
quickly become overworked and your work quality would suffer. Take breaks
whenever you don't feel motivated to work: you need them!

3. Don't set
aside time dedicated solely to working.

It would truly be a shame if your work
was regimented in constricting blocks of time. Your workflow is arrhythmic, and
trying to 'plan' motivation would make you even less motivated than you already
were. Therefore, don't make any schedules or timetables. In this way, you'll
never have to work on an assignment until you truly want too. The inspiration
will strike you when you're ready!

4. Do less
challenging assignments (and complete other obligations) first.

If you don't want to start that 4-page essay, you can easily
put it out of your mind by doing simpler work first. Complete small assignments
and do chores so that you aren't forced to cope with the difficulty of writing
the essay, At least you're doing something productive, right? The essay can
wait until tomorrow while you do this work.

5. Fulfill
every requirement for you to work optimally.

If you find that the assignment you're working on is becoming
dull and your quality of work is suffering, it's most likely because something
is preventing you from working well. Perhaps it's because your room is unclean—the
aura simply isn't right. To put yourself back in the right frame of mind, clean
your room for now and work on the assignment later. While you're up from your
desk, be sure to make your bed, eat a snack, watch some TV, and play a few
games of table tennis. Once you've gotten all of that out of your system,
you'll certainly be able to work much more efficiently on your assignment.

6. The
assignment is due 8:00AM tomorrow and it's 10:00PM? Take an all-nighter.

Plenty of people, from mathematicians to musicians, write
out their most influential proof or greatest opus in one long, uninterrupted,
feverish session. What separates you from them? You need to get this assignment
done somehow, even if it costs a few hours of sleep. Why not work through the
night and ensure the assignment gets done.

(Bonus!) 7.
Turn in the assignment late—or don't turn it in at all!

If you're truly opposed to doing this
assignment, you don't have to finish it before the deadline—or at all! For the
former, it's easy to postpone working on an assignment if a teacher only takes
off 2% for each day late, or better yet, doesn't deduct points at all if you
turn it in shortly after the deadline. For the latter, there's no easier way to
procrastinate an assignment than if you never actually do it. So omit summative
work that's difficult yet takes up a small percentage of your grade, and omit
formative work entirely.

Conclusion:

As you may have guessed while reading through the above
list, I don't actually advocate that anyone procrastinate. Procrastinating is
an unhealthy and unsatisfactory habit, but it's one that is remarkably easy to
slip into. Because of this, everyone procrastinates to some extent. In fact, I
procrastinated writing this very blog post. Since many people procrastinate,
it's important to note some of the factors and justifications that contribute
to procrastination. As such, the "How to Procrastinate" list is an exercise in
looking at some negative actions we take so that we may see what not to do.
Instead of tackling the difficult assignment, which requires effort and focus, many
of us would rather resort to doing something from the list. However, it's
critical that you recognize the true stress that procrastinating generates, and
avoid the items on this list as you see fit. I find that in general, it's
beneficial to take the opposite actions of those on this list, and the quality
of your work will increase while the amount of work-related stress will
decrease. Take all of this with a grain of salt though, as something that works
for me may not work you, and vice versa. But no matter how you conquer
procrastination, doing so is certainly advantageous

What are
some tips you have for students that are on the fence about doing IB diploma
due to Theory of Knowledge (TOK)?

There should no reason for students to be on the fence because
half the week is a study hall and you will still have opportunities to get work
done for your other classes and also the course is not hard. There is a a lot
of reasons why one should be on the fence about doing diploma and taking TOK
should not be one of them. It is also fun to be in the class, the good thing is
that instructors can do whatever they want with the material of the class. So I
try to choose fun activities and I think that the topics in the class are very
interesting.

Could you
give a brief summary of the TOK course?

TOK is about growing as a knower and putting together pieces of
what you learn in your other IB classes. It is also about synthesizing
knowledge.

And for
students that are taking TOK, what are some tips for succeeding
in the course?

To have an open mind and to be inquisitive.

Also what
do you think would be better taking the online course or the actual class? And
why?

I think the actual class is better because a big part of the
course is discussions. And the online course lacks that. There is a lot of
things you could do with the online course and you could still have discussions
but the responses online would not be as thoughtful or as instantaneous as our
live in class discussions.

Time management is a key skill in high school, but also in
your life afterwards. Having time management allows for you to be less stressed
because you have spaced out your work and also allows for you to revise your
work to make it better. Playing a sport forces you to have good time management
skills. Being a student athlete takes a lot of prioritizing, responsibility,
and motivation to be successful in the classroom. Having good time management
skills makes you create a balance of work time and down time. People with these
skills know how to organize their lives so they accomplish everything they have
planned for that day whether it's in school, in your sport, or with your
friends.

Life is a pathway of choices, and the
one who makes those choices is you. Whether you make the choice, someone else
influences your choice, something influences your choices, the final result
will be produced from you. There are times where you can turn your choices
back, but most of the time, you cannot turn your choices back. Your one choice
could lead to profitable and good results, but that one choice could lead to a
series of mistakes and even a disaster. According to research, decision making
suddenly changes when you reach puberty, and change slowly when you enter the
twenties. I believe that the most choices made during the high school life is
whether you should drink and do drugs, and I believe that the choice you make
in the situation stated before will affect your future. Do not look for a
situation that is only a step ahead. LOOK at a few more steps and imagine what
your future could look like due to your one choice! I really hope for you to
not make the decisions that may affect your future in a bad way.

I would like to share some tips for tackling AP
European History. My first tip to you would be to pay attention in class.
Always take effective and efficient notes during Mrs. Hilaman's lectures, as
everything she says could be used on any tests. My second tip for you would be
to do the formative practices. Mrs. Hilaman gives a lot of practice DBQs
(document-based questions), LEQs (long essay questions), and short answer
questions. Doing her formative work will help you develop the writing styles
that the AP graders want from you at the end of the year, which will help you
get the score you want on the exam. In addition, if you listen to her feedback
on the formative work, you can use that feedback to get good grades on her
assessments. The last tip, and probably the most important, do not over study.
I found that many of my peers studied frantically the night before assessments,
and they stressed themselves out by trying to cram all the knowledge into their
brain. Pay attention in class, and study what you don't know, and if you are
having a really difficult time grasping this, it won't help to study more, so
just move on. These tips will hopefully help you get a good grade in AP
European History with Mrs. Hilaman, and get you a good score on the AP Exam.

Already one quarter of the school year has
passed, and we are getting ready for the next, with the midterm exams coming up
along with Homecoming, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Each new quarter is a fresh
new start- a chance to get higher grades, try new activities, and put in as
much effort as you can! With this new page, it seems like you do not need
to do anything to prepare. However, there are a couple of things you can do to
give yourself a leg up to prepare for the exams and the lessons ahead.

1.
Evaluate the last quarter.

How much effort did you put into the last
quarter? Did you do all formative work, and all of the summative work? Did you
study? These are questions that you can be asking yourself. If you find
something that you could do better, like trading an hour of video games for
studying, or getting to school on time, or even just getting eight hours of
sleep, you can create easy ways to achieve this to make this an easier and
better term for you.

2.
Write down what you have learned.

Although it was just the beginning, there was a
lot of subject material that you have learned. It may not seem important, but
these topics will be on the midterm exams, though you learn them so long ago.
This leaves many people reviewing in the last week and forgetting what to
study. A way to resolve this would be writing down key themes from each of your
subjects. This would be the most important things to know, and it doesn't have
to be very detailed, just a sentence or two to help you remember. For example,
in US history I would write "The Colonies" and "The Great
Depression", and important figures during that time.

3.
Look at the Syllabus!

What better way to prepare for the new quarter
by seeing what you are going to learn? If you know the subject material, not
only will you not be lost in class, but you will know what is coming up. This
means you can also prepare beforehand, by reading or researching the main
themes and facts.

4.
Talk to your teachers

There may be things you are doing wrong or
should be doing that you do not even know about. Ask your teachers on how you
did in the quarter and what you can do to improve, from homework standards to
classroom etiquette.

5.
Make some goals!

Thanks to Skyward and Canvas, our grades are
always there to see. You may not have reached a grade level you wanted to, or
there may be a grade you want to achieve by the end of the year. A semester
grade consists of the two quarters plus the midterm exam, which means if you
know what your grade is this quarter, you can find out what grade you have to
get the next quarter and in the exam to achieve the grade you want. This end
grade will be a goal, and you can have certain goals leading up to it, like
studying every night or getting or completing all of the reviews, and getting
A's on the formative assignments.

In conclusion, don't waste time before the
quarter, or think there is nothing you can do. Make sure you do what you need
to do to have the best year ever!

At Windermere Prep, we're lucky to have such a
well-developing, ambitious, and growing Arts Program available to students of
all ages, no matter their level of skill. One of these many programs is the Dance
Program, taught by Gilliane Hadley and Alison Barron. Many students, new or
returning, may have questions or hesitations about the Dance Program at our
school, which is why I sat down with high school dance instructor, Ms. Hadley,
to provide some answers to any of your questions.

What do
you like the most about the dance program at Windermere Prep?

H: What I like most about the dance program is that
you get to dance everyday and I get to see you grow throughout the year. I've
had students since they were freshman and now they're about to graduate as
seniors. I also love that the fact that the dancers have different levels they
can dance in and then they have a choice to take IB Dance or stick with
elective dance or do both, which is amazing. I love that they get the
opportunity to perform and do activities with Juilliard.

How do you think dance counts as both a sport and
an art? Why are both elements important?

H: As an art, because it's a performing art, right?
As for being mixed with a sport and art, we're physical, we're always moving,
our heart rate is elevated, and we are our own athletes in our own way. Our
bodies need to be warm like an athlete and will wear down like an athlete. For
each genre of dance, there are certain skills and elements you need to know,
just like any sport.

How do you come up with our themes and visions for
our dance shows?

H: Sometimes it just happens, and sometimes I just
hear something in a song. Music inspires me a lot. If I hear something, I can
totally envision certain groups of kids dancing to it, which is how I figure
out what dances you're going to do. Regarding the themes of the shows, me and
Mrs. Barron really work together trying to figure that out because we have to
be able to pick something that not only you guys will be excited about, but
also what will inspire us to create those dances. We always like to challenge
you and ourselves. Sometimes we think, "Oh my gosh, what are we doing?" But we
are always thinking of you guys and what will keep you excited about dance and
challenge some classes technique wise.

What do you think the dance program at Windermere
Prep has to offer students and aspiring dancers?

H: So, for students who love to dance, it's a nice
break from sitting at a desk all day. It should be an escape from your busy
school schedule. Yes, I have high expectations for you, but if you love to
dance, those expectations should be second nature. I can only help you so much,
but if you try, those accomplishments are worth it in the end. Sometimes it's
hard, because our classes are so short in terms of regular dance classes.
Celeste, one of my aspiring dancers who graduated last year, found it hard to
go to auditions and face the dance world because she couldn't take away everything
that she should have. But we are not a studio, we are a school. It's not
about taking a technique class. There are things we have to dive into more such
as terminology, dance history, watching the works of other dancers and
choreographers and creating compositions. I try to base our classes off how
performing arts schools teach their dancers and try to shape versatile dancers.
I want students to be able to walk into an audition or a dance group in college
and be able to dance any genre or style, even if dancing professionally is not
their ultimate goal.

Why do you think students should take a dance class
next year, even if they've never danced before and what can they take away from
it?

H: They should not take a dance class if
they don't like to move or sweat. I think they should take a dance class
because it's good for your health and it builds your brain in a different way.
It's a release and it's enjoyable. It's interesting to see dancers in the first
month and see which dancers make it to the next semester and the changes in the
way they dance; it amazes me every time. They come in so enthusiastic and so
ready to be challenged more. The best reason to take dance is that you really
learn who you are and how much discipline you have and how much you really want
to grow as a person.

During my time in middle
school, everything seemed easy. Now there were a couple exceptions like TAP, but
for the most part it was a breeze. I could go home do my homework in an hour
and then watch TV or do something else. I had a lot of free time on my hands.
At the beginning of the 9th grade year, I didn't think that 9th grade could be
much harder than 8th grade. You would not believe how wrong I was. Now, most of
the hard work came from my AP Human Geography class (which required at least 2
hours a night) and I was forced to learn how to manage my time well so I could
have time to do some of my extracurricular activities, and other homework. The
most efficient way to clear up time is to make use of your weekends. This may
seem hard at first because your weekends are your only time off from school,
but to manage an AP class with other activities you must utilize it. Utilizing
the weekend can reduce the workload. You must stay organized during your 9th
grade year or you will fall behind on your assignments. There are a few
different apps that I recommend to get organized as they have helped me in the
past. Using technology was a big help in knowing what is due and when.

iCalendar

Wunderlist

Todoist

Things

Outlook Calendar

Another big difference between school and high school is that
you go from the top of the food chain, to the bottom. In 8th grade you were the
"big man on campus", the apex predator, you had gotten pretty used to the
campus and the teachers knew you very well. In 9th grade you flip sides, you
become the "little man on campus" and are put into a totally different
environment. With all the different teachers and classes, high school can look
overwhelming. But know that by the end of the first semester, you will be used
to it. Another big fear most 9th graders have are the seniors. They are
expected to be big and bad, but they are actually friendlier than you think.
They will assist you in pretty much anything, whether it is directions or
advice for a certain class.

The final difference between 8th and 9th grade is the immense
pressure put on by college. When entering high school, you will have a moment
of realization that now everything matters. Each test, each project, each
choice that you make in high school will affect college. So in May, when you
are looking at your course selection actually look at what classes you choose
because those decisions can come back and haunt you. Make sure to pick classes
right for you, not too hard or too easy but just right. You must put all your
effort into each an every assignment because every grade matters and one grade
can affect your quarterly grade in a positive way or negative way.

Whenever you are
lonely, whenever you are bored, and whenever you are nervous, one of the best
activities to do is volunteering. The fact that you are helping someone out for
his or her benefit, not yours, gives you a thrill and happiness. When you are
volunteering, you are also giving something back to the community, the
community that gave you the environment to grow to what you are now.

Volunteering can
also help you build new skills or even build on an existing skill that you are
working on. For example, volunteering at a golf tournament may help you
understand golf and volunteering at a hospital may help you understand how
patients are treated and how the hospital runs during the day. Each time you
volunteer, whether it is fun or not, you learn a valuable lesson, and the
lesson you learn can be used for your future decisions and actions

For me,
volunteering is quite fun, although I encounter new skills and activities that
I might not even use in my life, just learning the new skills makes it fun for
me. I volunteered at a golf tournament January 2016, and from there, I learned
how the scoreboard runs during a golf tournament, and many other management
skills that run a golf tournament. I even met many famous people there too!
Furthermore, I am going to volunteer at the Orlando Regional Medical Center and
I am looking forward to volunteer! I will be able to not only go around the
hospital, but also have a chance to look into details where patient is being
cared of, and other great opportunities!

All in all, one of
the best ways to learn and go out into the world is by volunteering. The
current world requires us to have as many skills and volunteering can cover
most of the experience we need. Plus, just why not volunteer? Volunteering, in
my opinion, is better than any phone or computer games and many other home
activities. Most volunteering activities are held outside, which means that you
can also get your daily walking done while outside. So to have fun and
volunteer!

All students can describe their high school life as busy. Between
homework and all the different sports and after school activities we are
involved in, at some point (or points) in the year the work load will just become too much. Students will find that there is not enough time in the
day for homework, sleep, sports and clubs, and a social life. In order to
handle all of these things a student will soon find themselves up at 3 a.m. finishing
homework that could have been done sooner or studying for a test that was
forgotten because of this workload. A way to avoid all of this is time
management. And I know that I am sounding like a total counselor right now, but
trust me it works. How you use your time is very important and totally changes
how your week turns out. The amount of homework sometimes depends on what you
get done in class. ( Not all the time obviously ) In order to cut down the
work here are some tips that I would highly recommend to use!

•When at school if
given the chance to work on projects or protective homework, work on it! Either
if it is during class or SRT. The more you get done at school, the less you
have to do at home.

•When doing homework
at home, if you find that you get tired while working work a desk and not on
your bed. This will force you to work on what you need to get done.

•Also make sure that
when doing homework to put away all of the possible distractions to work at
your full potential.

Many people have the desire to succeed,
however sometimes it takes a lot of work to get
to the point that you want to be at academically.
My main tip to doing your absolute best is being on top of things. If a teacher were
to give you a test a week in advance the best thing you could
possibly do is study a bit every night until
the assessment approaches. Many students will wait
until last minute to study and will not
perform at their best. This could be applied to any project
given as well. As you get into
higher grades the work amount will only increase, so if you
started bad habits on procrastinating then it might be hard to
break out of it. However, you will for sure see benefits when you begin
to do your work in advance instead of cramming it the night before
it's due.

My second most important
tip is to use your class time. Many teachers let you
complete work in class, to prevent the amount of
homework you will have at home. Many students slack in
class and talk to their friends or not
pay attention, and that just will increase your stress levels in
the future. It is way easier to do the
work at school when you are supposed to than leave it to do
when you get home in the afternoon. Following
these two important tips, it is guaranteed that
you will see an improvement in your performance and
your stress level will begin to decrease.

Staying on top of work can be hard, especially
in High School. Falling behind in work may seem hard to avoid, but there are
always ways to stay ahead. When you make the transition from Middle School to
High School, you can see the difference between the amount of work you have.
I'm in 9th Grade, so it is my first year in High School and it was hard for me
to adjust to the amount of work there is in High School. Once I started to
realize I was falling behind, I made sure to change that and started doing
things that could help me. There are many ways you can stay on top of your work
and even though it may take extra time, it is completely worth it because you
will be stress free.

My first tip would be to always be paying
attention and writing notes. If you are constantly writing notes in your
classes you will automatically start to understand concepts more. Once the test
or quiz comes around for that class, you won't have to cram the night before
because you will already have the basic information. Not only that, but
actually going over your notes after school will help you a lot. In past
years I would only look over my notes once at home and then never again , and
that would lead me to being stressed over the class. Once I started reviewing
the concepts from the class and all the notes, I noticed how quickly it helped
me. Not only that but challenging yourself and pushing yourself to work. Being
in a class that is too easy for you may be less stressful, but actually pushing
and challenging yourself to be in a class that is a little bit harder will be
helpful, because you will actually be learning new concepts. If you do decide
to challenge yourself, you shouldn't push yourself too hard. If you do then it
will be hard to progress because you will be struggling to keep up with the
concept. Keeping on top of all your work may take up time, but it is worth it in
the long run.

High School here at WPS differs greatly from Middle School. There are
higher expectations, more emphasis on academic mastery and more hours spent
completing homework. But that doesn't mean you should be scared or intimidated
about the jump from 8th grade to 9th grade. Here are some tips and advice to
prepare you for your first year in high school and the years to come.

Always Be On Top of Everything: It
is crucial that you stay organized and know what is coming up in the week.
Firstly, always know what your homework is, when it is due and what tests you
have to study for. There are multiple ways to do so, such as getting a hard
copy planner or using a program on your computer. This way, you can keep track
of upcoming assignments and exams and what you have to do that night. Plan out
your homework load so you are not procrastinating and working on a lengthy
assignment at 11:00 at night. While everyone slips here and there and
procrastinates until the last minute because of other homework or after school
activities, try your best not to. Another method that is crucial to adapt is
organization. Keeping all your papers, worksheets and tests in one place will
make it easy for you to study for midterms and finals. Doing the same on your
computer is also helpful as well.

Taking Notes and Study Methods: For
a lot of students, school comes easy to them and are able to make A's without
studying. But as the material becomes harder to understand and the amount of
material on exams increases, students find it harder to not study and still
make an A. That's why taking good notes and finding the right study method is
important. Depending on the teacher, they might teach with a powerpoint, by
writing notes on the whiteboard or by just talking out loud. Try your to not tune
out the teacher while they are talking and just write what is on the board.
While that might be easier to copy down, sometimes the teacher will say or
explain material that is not on the board and is important to know. Not
everyone does this, but I will tend to use multiple pens such as a black and
purple/gold pen so that I can use the colorful pens to underline key concepts
and terms so when I am reading through my notes later, those key concepts will
stand out to me. When it comes to studying, just reading over your notes might
not be enough, especially if the class is rather challenging for you. Students
need to find what study method works for them, whether it be explaining
concepts out loud or using online flashcards and practice tests such as quizlet.
If you figure out what helps you learn early on in your freshman year, high
school will be a lot easier for you.

While school can be boring and
uninteresting and it is hard to be motivated to do homework, you have to look
at it with a positive approach. Choose classes that fit your learning skill
(honors, non-honors, AP, etc) and always strive to be the best that you can be.
If you stay organized, take good notes and study in a way that benefits you,
you should be very successful in high school. I will leave you with two things:
Don't sweat every single grade because I am going to tell you now that you will
get a 'bad grade' from time to time. Just focus on making corrections to it and
doing better next time. Lastly, just remember, if you ever have questions about
material in class, ask your teacher. They are there to help you. Best of luck!

As a student of Windermere Prep you are
expected to strive for perfection and attain excellence, but this doesn't mean
that you must be stressed all the time. With good time management you can be
less stressed, get more things done, and even have some free time for other
activities that you may enjoy. I used to always be stressed about getting good
grades and doing all of the homework that I was assigned. I had to learn how
to manage my time in order to get more things done and have free time do the
things that I loved. I had tried many time management tactics, such as writing
everything down in my planner, or even skipping some after school activities in
order to get the best grade possible. This ended up stressing me out even more,
I had to find a method that worked for me. I ended up using a time calendar. I
know it sounds weird, but I got a white board and marker and would write down
what I would be doing every half hour. This helped me to see exactly when I
should be working on a certain assignment, or studying for a specific test. I
now had seen where I had free time to spend with family and friends, and even
go to all of my after school activities. This has helped me manage my time, but
it might not help you. Find a system that works for you and stick with that
method. Make sure to keep up with the method you choose as well. As long as the
system works for you, it doesn't matter how weird it seems.

With the first
test done, I am sure there are some 9th graders considering dropping APUSH (AP US History).
From my understanding, the grades were not that good. This is not abnormal, for
my AP Human Geography class as well as the classes before me the first test is
always the hardest and most students don't do well on it. I for one received a
C on my first test and I am sure that this is the same situation for the rest
of you. Before my first test, I thought Mr. Zoslow was exaggerating about the
longevity of his tests. I thought that the essay questions would be one page at
max and there would be more than enough time. Boy was I wrong. I was completely
blindsided by my first test, and considering the circumstances I was pretty
lucky in receiving a C. Like me most of you asked yourself, how on earth am i
going to do well in this class?

The first tip I
give to you is participating in class discussion. This is what is going to be
on the test. 75% of the test is based on the applications of the information on
the outlines which Mr. Zoslow talks about every day in class. So taking notes
is a great idea. Class discussion reinforces the points that you studied in the
outlines as well, so when you participate in class discussion there are one of
two outcomes. Either you get it right and you can say that you know the topic
or you don't and Mr. Zoslow will explain the correct answer. In the beginning
it is extremely nerve racking as Mr. Zoslow is pretty intimidating. As soon as
you overcome this fear, you will be one step closer to an A.

On a test, Mr.
Zoslow will put all information learned on it. You must use all sources in
order to ensure that you are well prepared for each test. Everything in the
textbook, on the outlines, in the class discussion, and on the KBAT is fair
game for the test. This may sound like a lot of studying but the effort needed
for a good grade is high in an AP class. In terms of the distribution between
the various resources, Mr. Zoslow expects you to know the facts from the text
book, but most of the points earned on the test are the applications talked
about during the class discussion, so I highly recommend taking lengthy class
notes.

Finally, when
testing you should always outline before you write an essay. Take just 30
seconds to organize your thoughts and it will make a big difference. Mr. Zoslow
always makes the analogy of an easter egg hunt. In an easter egg hunt,
everything is scattered everywhere and there is no form of organization. In
your essay it is essential that your essay is well thought out and organized.
If you were talking about subsistence agriculture, don't go and talk about
commercial agriculture before you finish subsistence agriculture.

Zoslow's class will take some time
to adjust to, so don't get discouraged if you don't do well in the beginning.
But in the end, everyone will figure out a formula to success and will do well.

I would like to think that I am a good writer; that
I am good with words. You think it is an art, how I bleed for the world in a
verse. But I think it's a way of life, how I let myself speak the words I've
never been able to say. Writing is an art. Identical to art, the mystical crux
of writing is in the eye of the beholder. Writing, like art can come in various
magnitudes, insignias and each have their own eccentric way with words.

I find that
words can be like an incorrigible child at times. They run around in your head,
popping up at random intervals, giving you headaches and causing a
maelstrom. Words are nothing but a
jumble of inane letters, but it is your job, as a creator and as a writer, to
tame those words running in your head and bend them to coalesce into tangible
thoughts.

When I was
smaller, writing was not an event that I would happily do, not by a long shot.
Never would you find me freely obliging to write a 6-page essay for my friend.
The easiest excuse I would use was that "writing is not easy". Everyone has
their own struggles, whether it is coming up with strong thesis, plot,
characters or even having an idea to start with. When George Plimpton asked
Ernest Hemingway what the best training for an aspiring writer would be in a
1954 interview, Hemingway replied, "Let's say that he should go out and hang himself
because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be
cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can
for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to
commence with." This was kind of like Hemmingway's sick, comical take on
writing.

Trust me,
writing doesn't have to end in "hanging". It does not have to seem hard.
Really, it can be quite enjoyable. But unlike common belief, writing is not easy. Not in the least bit. It
is not just a scratch on top of a piece of paper or the result of a single
keystroke. No, it is the process of creating a breathing life form that is
birthed from your very own mind. If you do it just right, if will feel like you
are putting part of your soul down on the surface. It is not like a jar waiting
to be filled, more like a castle waiting to be built. Nonetheless, writing, for
anyone, is not an easy feat. However, it one of the most purest forms of art you can ever make. You
are painting with the most potent "aether" of your own heart.